Director: Carlos Marques-Marcet
Writer: Carlos Marques-Marcet, Jules Nurrish (Screenplay)
Starring: Geraldine Chaplin, Oona Chaplin, Natalia Tena, Charlotte Atkinson, Lara Rossi, Trevor White, David Verdaguer
Plot: Two women, Eva and Kat, and the best friend of one of them, Roger. A boat in the canals of London and a question: Is it possible to live love, family, and life in such different ways and yet remain united?
Runtime: 1 Hour 53 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Authentic Look at Love
Story: Anchor and Hope starts as we meet our couple Eva (Chaplin) and Kat (Tena) who live in a boat on the canals of London, they are at a crossroads in their lives and their relationship as they are figuring out the next steps, Kat’s friend Roger (Verdaguer) joins them as the life questions get asked.
When Eva manages to convince Kat they should have a baby, the couple get Roger to be their sperm donor and now they must prepare for a future with a potential baby even if their methods are not the most medically actuate.
Thoughts on Anchor and Hope
Characters – Eva is one half of the couple, she wants to have her own child and is pushing her girlfriend to consider starting a family, she doesn’t want to follow the normal and keep her free spirit identity. Kat is the partner who is enjoying the life of just the two of them, not wanting to start a family, but will make that sacrifice for the one she loves. The two have great chemistry and you do believe their relationship. Roger is the old friend of Kat that joins them in, he becomes the choice to be the sperm donor and stays around to make sure they couple get what they want.
Performances – Oona Chaplin and Natalia Tena are both fantastic in the lead roles, they show us great chemistry between them, they hit the emotional range they must go through during the film and make us believe we are watching two-real people. David Verdaguer is good too through the film.
Story – The story here follows a young lesbian couple and their friend who are trying to just enjoy life while escaping responsibilities, making big life decisions and being happy. We follow a stage of their life as they prepare to make a big decision which will test them more than ever. The story makes us feel like we watching a real relationship with real decisions being made which is always refreshing. My only negative is left wondering just how they live this sort of life in the first place, we don’t get any sort of indication that they have jobs or anything.
Comedy/Romance – The comedy in this film works for the most part, we have moments or enjoyment that will get a laugh or two from the audience, the romance shows us just how difficult relationships can be for anyone involved.
Settings – The film is set in and around the canals in London, what makes the settings feel completely natural is how the scenes are shot with what seems like natural everyday life going on behind them.
Scene of the Movie – The canal cruising is always beautiful to watch.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Trying to figure out how they afford this life.
Final Thoughts – This is a beautiful story of love between two people that need to learn to grow together for one of the biggest decisions of their life.
Overall: Love story that feels real.
Rating
